Leigh Noyes (December 15, 1885 – March 24, 1961) was a Vice Admiral in the

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...

during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. He was

Director of Naval Communications {{Refimprove, date=March 2017 Director of Naval Communications was a post on the staff of the United States Navy's Chief of Naval Operations responsible for organizing, administering and operating the Naval Communications Service. In Navy parlance ...

before the outbreak of World War II and later served as Commander, Carrier Division 3 and Commander, Naval Air Force, Pacific Fleet.Noyes, Leigh H.
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Biography

Graduated from the U.S. Naval Academy in 1906, he won the

Navy Cross The Navy Cross is the United States Navy and United States Marine Corps' second-highest military decoration awarded for sailors and marines who distinguish themselves for extraordinary heroism in combat with an armed enemy force. The medal is eq ...

while serving as Flag Secretary and Fleet Communication Officer of the Atlantic Fleet during

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

. He was also decorated with the Russian Order of Saint Stanislaus, 3rd Class for the saving of Russian refugees from a sinking boat in the

Black Sea The Black Sea is a marginal mediterranean sea of the Atlantic Ocean lying between Europe and Asia, east of the Balkans, south of the East European Plain, west of the Caucasus, and north of Anatolia. It is bounded by Bulgaria, Georgia, Roma ...

. In 1934, he took over command of the . In 1937 he completed flight training and took command of . In 1938, he was appointed as Chief of staff, Aircraft, Battle Force. At the time war broke out in 1941, Rear Admiral Noyes was Director of Naval Communications in Washington and was accused of not passing along the "Bomb Plot" intercept of 9 October 1941 indicating that the Japanese Consulate in

Honolulu Honolulu (; ) is the capital and largest city of the U.S. state of Hawaii, which is in the Pacific Ocean. It is an unincorporated county seat of the consolidated City and County of Honolulu, situated along the southeast coast of the island ...

was under instructions to report ship locations in

Pearl Harbor Pearl Harbor is an American lagoon harbor on the island of Oahu, Hawaii, west of Honolulu. It was often visited by the Naval fleet of the United States, before it was acquired from the Hawaiian Kingdom by the U.S. with the signing of the Re ...

. In March 1942, he was sent to Pearl Harbor servicing as

Admiral Halsey Admiral Halsey may refer to: *U.S. Fleet Admiral William Halsey Jr., (1882–1959) **The Paul McCartney song "Uncle Albert/Admiral Halsey "Uncle Albert/Admiral Halsey" is a song by Paul and Linda McCartney from the album ''Ram''. Released in the ...

's shore administrator. He was considered to replace Halsey for Midway but instead Admiral Raymond A. Spruance was selected. In June 1942, he was given command of

Task Force 18 Task may refer to: * Task (computing), in computing, a program execution context * Task (language instruction) refers to a certain type of activity used in language instruction * Task (project management), an activity that needs to be accomplish ...

and later

Task Force 61 Task Force 61 (CTF-61) is a task force of the United States Navy that today denotes what used to be designated the Mediterranean Amphibious ready group (MARG) of the United States Sixth Fleet. It is composed of approximately three Amphibious assa ...

transferred his flag to . After ''Wasp'' was torpedoed on September 14, 1942 he was criticized for his actions and reassigned as commander, Naval Air Force, Pacific Fleet which he held until October 1942. In 1945 he was appointed to the position of President, Board of Inspection and Survey, serving till 1946 when he retired. He was promoted to vice admiral in the retired list in 1950.

Decorations

Here is the ribbon bar of Vice Admiral Leigh Noyes:

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Noyes, Leigh 1885 births 1961 deaths People from St. Johnsbury, Vermont United States Navy vice admirals United States Naval Aviators United States Naval Academy alumni Naval War College alumni United States Navy personnel of World War I United States Navy World War II admirals Recipients of the Navy Cross (United States) Recipients of the Legion of Merit Burials at Arlington National Cemetery